JPH1063902A - Automatic charge collecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve reliability without operating radio communication even when a vehicle travels in the neighborhood of the center line of adjacent traffic lanes. SOLUTION: A general road 31 is adjacent to a toll road 32, and the both traffic lanes are parallel or facing traffic. A frame 25 is set across the road surface of the general road 31 and the toll road 32, and a communicating antenna 21 for collecting charge is provided just above the toll road 32 at the upper part of the pertinent frame. The radio communicating area of this communicating antenna 21 is shown as a communicating radio area 23. Also, an area limiting antenna 22 for controlling the communicating area of the above mentioned communicating antenna 21 is provided just above a center line 28 provided between the general road 31 and the toll road 32 at the upper part of the frame 25, and the radio communicating area forced out beyond the center line 28 to the general road is interrupted. On the other hand, an on-vehicle radar 27 with high sensitivity is mounted inside the front glass of a vehicle 26, and radio communication with the above mentioned communicating antenna 21 is operated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic toll collection device for use in highways, parking lots, etc., for automatically collecting tolls by wireless communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a toll collection system for an expressway or a parking lot has adopted a method in which a toll collector collects cash directly from a driver or collects a toll by letting a driver put cash into an automatic machine. Have been. Therefore, the driver needs to stop at the toll booth and hand cash. Therefore, an automatic toll collection device that performs wireless communication between a ground station and an in-vehicle wireless device provided in a vehicle to automatically collect a toll has been developed.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional automatic toll collection device. FIG. 3 shows the vicinity of the entrance of a tollgate or a parking lot. There is no separation zone, and the general road 1 and the toll road 2 are adjacent to each other and are in parallel or face-to-face traffic. Are distinguished by Hereinafter, the automatic toll collection device near the entrance of the parking lot will be described. Here, the vehicle 3 a traveling on the toll road 2 travels in the direction of the arrow and enters the parking lot 11.

A vehicle-mounted radio 4 is mounted inside the windshield of the vehicle 3a, and information such as an ID number unique to each vehicle 3a is stored in the vehicle-mounted radio 4. On the other hand, at the tollgate, a gantry 5 is installed across the road surface,
The mount 5 is provided with a toll collection communication antenna 8 corresponding to the lane of the toll road. The communication antenna 8 transmits a communication radio wave 9 to the in-vehicle wireless device 4 below for performing wireless communication.

Now, when the vehicle 3a having the vehicle-mounted radio 4 travels in the direction of the arrow and passes below the communication antenna 8 provided on the gantry 5, the communication between the communication antenna 8 and the vehicle-mounted radio 4 is started. , ID numbers, tolls, and other information are automatically wirelessly communicated. These information are recognized by the ground station 7, and when the vehicle is parked at the parking lot 11, the vehicle communicates again with the above-mentioned toll collection communication antenna 8 by radio communication. Automatically pays through charges from accounts of banks etc. registered by.

[0006] The vehicle-mounted radio 4 provided on the vehicle 3a as described above.
According to the toll collection system using the toll collection communication antenna 8, it is possible to collect tolls that need not be temporarily stopped and do not require cash.

[0007]

In the conventional automatic toll collection device applied to a tollgate such as an expressway or a parking lot, the radio wave from the toll collection communication antenna 8 is securely communicated with the vehicle 3a by wireless communication. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication radio wave area 12 is set wide enough to protrude into a general road.

As described above, the reason why the communication radio wave area 12 is set wider is that the communication radio wave area 12 varies. The radio wave transmitted from the toll collection communication antenna 8 becomes weaker as the distance increases. In addition, when the type of vehicle, such as a passenger car or truck, is different, the mounting height and angle of the in-vehicle wireless device 4 are different, so that the receiving sensitivity of the in-vehicle wireless device 4 varies.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the communication radio wave area 12 and the detection level D of the communication radio wave 9. The horizontal axis represents the distance from the toll collection communication antenna 8, and the vertical axis represents the detection level D. As shown in FIG. 6, the angle and direction of entry are not constant due to differences in vehicle height and the like due to differences in the type of vehicle 3a entering the toll collection communication antenna 8 and differences in entry positions in the width direction of the road. Further, the radio wave transmitted from the toll collection communication antenna 8 becomes weaker as the distance increases. Therefore, the distance over which the oscillating radio wave of the toll collection communication antenna 8 reaches varies depending on the entering angle and direction, and the communication radio wave area 12 varies.
In other words, the solid line indicating the communication radio wave area 12 shifts to the curve indicated by the broken line.

Here, since the wireless communication is started when the detection level D exceeds a certain detection sensitivity 10, if the communication radio wave area 12 is shifted to the area shown by the broken line,
The communication start distance L ₂ varies by ΔL ₂ depending on how the radio wave arrives. Due to this variation, if the sensitivity of the on-vehicle wireless device 4 is particularly poor, communication between the vehicle 3a running at high speed and the ground station 7 cannot be sufficiently performed, and the vehicle may pass.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, it is necessary to set the communication radio wave area 12 to be wider. On the contrary, by setting the communication radio area 12 to be wider, as shown in FIG. The communication radio wave area 12 extends up to this point. Here, for example, when the vehicle 3c that changes lanes from the toll road 2 to the general road 1 passes and passes near the center line 6, the communication radio wave area 1
Since the vehicle passes through the inside 2, wireless communication is performed with the communication antenna 8 for toll collection. Also, when the general road 1 is a lane in the opposite direction to the toll road 2 and the vehicle 3c runs near the center line 6 in the same manner as described above, there is a possibility that wireless communication with the communication antenna 8 may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system in which a communication radio wave area from a toll collection antenna installed on a toll road is adjacent to a lane extending beyond a center line. If a vehicle traveling on a general road in an adjacent lane passes near the center line provided between the vehicle and the toll road, wireless communication will not be performed, and there will be no interference between the ground station and the vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic toll collection device for improving operability.

[0013]

An automatic toll collection device according to the present invention is provided in a vehicle-mounted radio and a tollgate provided on a tollgate provided on a toll road when the mobile body passes through the tollgate. An automatic toll collection device that performs automatic communication of tolls by performing wireless communication with a ground station that has been set up so as to correspond to a lane of the toll road that performs wireless communication with an in-vehicle wireless device mounted on the mobile object. The communication antenna provided, the radio communication area created by the communication antenna by transmitting an interfering radio wave by an unmodulated wave provided on the center line between the toll road and the lane adjacent to the toll road, An area limiting antenna for limiting an area protruding into a lane adjacent to a toll road is provided.

The automatic toll collection device according to the present invention has the following functions and effects by the above configuration. When a vehicle traveling on a toll road and passing through a tollgate reaches the wireless communication area of the communication antenna, an ID number and the like unique to each vehicle are transmitted between the communication antenna and the on-board wireless device mounted on the vehicle. Information is wirelessly communicated, and the wireless communication information is recognized by a ground station, and automatic collection of a fee is performed.

When the vehicle passes near the communication antenna in the lane adjacent to the toll road, ie, near the center line between the toll road and the adjacent lane, the wireless communication area by the communication antenna is Because it is restricted near the center line by unblocked radio waves transmitted from the limited antenna, the wireless communication area is set only on toll roads,
It does not protrude into the adjacent lane.

Due to the above-described restriction of the communication area, even if a vehicle traveling on a lane adjacent to the toll road passes near the center line provided between the two lanes, the unmodulated signal transmitted from the area-limited antenna is not transmitted. Since the communication area is controlled up to the center line by waves, vehicles traveling in the lane adjacent to the toll road do not wirelessly communicate with the ground station in the parking lot via the communication antenna, preventing interference. Becomes possible.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automatic toll collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a general road 31 and a toll road 32 are adjacent to each other, there is no separation zone, and both lanes are parallel or face-to-face traffic. A gantry 25 is installed across the road surface between the general road 31 and the toll road 32, and a toll collection communication antenna 21 is provided above the gantry 25 and corresponding to the lane of the toll road 32. This communication antenna 2
The communication radio wave area 23 indicates the radio wave area in which communication is possible.
It is. The toll collection communication antenna 21 is the vehicle 2 entering
6a is directed to the direction of the windshield.
The wireless communication 6a starts just before passing under the gantry 25.

Also, above the pedestal 25 and on the general road 31
Immediately above the center line 28 provided between the toll road 32 and the toll road 32, an area limiting antenna 22 for controlling the communication area of the communication antenna 21 for toll collection described above is provided.

On the other hand, a high-sensitivity in-vehicle wireless device 27 is mounted inside the windshield of the vehicle 26a, and information such as an ID number unique to each vehicle 26a and a toll is stored in the in-vehicle wireless device 27. ing.

The operation of the above embodiment will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG.
2 runs on the vehicle 26a. Here, when the vehicle 26a runs below the gantry 25 and reaches the communication radio wave area 23, the vehicle 26a is stored in the on-vehicle wireless device 27 between the toll collection communication antenna 21 and the on-vehicle wireless device 27 mounted on the vehicle 26a. ID
Information such as numbers and tolls is automatically wirelessly communicated.

Similarly, the vehicle 26c travels on the general road 31. Here, when the vehicle 26c passes below the gantry 25, if the wireless communication is performed only by the toll collection communication antenna 21 mounted right above the adjacent toll road 32, the toll collection communication antenna is used. Since the communication radio wave area 23 by 21 is set wide, it extends beyond the central line 28 from the toll road 32 to the general road 31. The protruding portion of the communication radio wave area 23 causes the vehicle 2
If the vehicle 6c is traveling near the center line 28 between the toll road 32 and the general road 31, the on-board wireless device 27 of the vehicle 26c enters the communication radio wave area 23, performs wireless communication, and erroneously collects a toll. In some cases.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned malfunction from occurring, the communication radio wave area 23 is limited. Specifically, an unmodulated wave is output from the area limiting antenna 14 to intentionally obstruct the communication radio wave area 23. The area due to the jamming radio waves is shown at 24. The communication radio wave restriction area 24, which indicates the area of unmodulated waves caused by the interfering radio waves, extends downward from directly above the center line 28 and blocks the communication radio wave area 23 near the center line 28.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the communication area and the ratio D / U between the desired signal power D and the interference signal power U by limiting the communication signal area 23 with the communication signal restriction area 24.
It is. The horizontal axis represents the distance from the toll collection communication antenna 21, and the vertical axis represents the ratio D / U between the desired signal power D and the interference signal power U. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication start point is started from a point exceeding a certain detection sensitivity 30, but the area and angle of the vehicle 26c approaching are different due to the restriction of the area of the communication radio wave area 23 by jamming radio waves. The difference between the curve shown by the solid line and the curve shown by the broken line in the communication radio wave area 23 is the communication start distance L
_As can be seen from the deviation ΔL ₁ of ₁ , the value becomes smaller.

As described above, since the radio communication area is restricted by the interfering radio wave due to the unmodulated wave, the toll communication with the on-vehicle radio 27 mounted on the vehicle 26c traveling near the center line 28 of the general road 31 is performed. The malfunction that the antenna 21 performs wireless communication does not occur.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the automatic toll collection device at a tollgate at a place where a general road and a toll road are adjacent is shown. However, the same automatic toll collection device is also used at a place where toll roads are adjacent to each other, thereby causing interference with an adjacent lane. It is possible to prevent.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the radio communication area protruding into the ordinary road is cut off by the area limiting antenna, so that the vehicle running on the ordinary road is provided between the adjacent toll road. Wireless communication is not performed even when the vehicle passes through the vicinity of the central line, interference between the ground station and the vehicle is eliminated, and the reliability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of an automatic toll collection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a communication start point and a desired signal power to interference wave power ratio in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional automatic toll collection device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a communication radio wave area of a conventional automatic toll collection device.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a communication radio wave area of a conventional automatic toll collection device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication start point and a detection level of a conventional automatic toll collection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Communication Antenna for Toll Collection 22 Area Restricted Antenna 23 Communication Radio Area 24 Communication Radio Area 25 Mount 26, 26a, 26b, 26c Vehicle 27 In-Vehicle Radio 28 Central Line 30 Detection Sensitivity 31 General Road 32 Toll Road

Claims (1)

[Claims] When a moving object passes through a tollgate provided on a toll road, wireless communication is performed between an on-vehicle wireless device provided on the moving object and a ground station provided on the tollgate. An automatic toll collection device that performs automatic toll collection, performing wireless communication with an in-vehicle wireless device mounted on the mobile object,
A communication antenna provided to correspond to the lane of the toll road, provided on a center line between the toll road and the lane adjacent to the toll road, transmitting an unmodulated wave jamming radio wave, An automatic toll collection device, comprising: an area limiting antenna for limiting an area of a wireless communication area created by a communication antenna that protrudes into a lane adjacent to the toll road.